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Dallas Wells: Pretty uneventful game for his really. Expected to see a bit more of his long passing game but he really only received any ball second man off Maklouf. Put in a well weighted kick for Brendan Elliot’s try, a low stab kick to the in-goal from about the 40 which Elliot grounded right in the corner.
Brendan Elliot: Also quiet other than his try which was an awesome effort that no one would have expected. Missed a conversion from basically in front but then kicked the next one from his try from an inch off the sideline.
Nene MacDonald: Very impressive at centre. Definitely the best of the backs. Made a couple of big runs out of dummy half and seemed safe in defence. Ran down a Manly player who made a break up the middle easy but from memory he managed to offload to support. Scored a try that showcased that speed again. A Tyler Cornish kick was charged down and went straight up, he made a great contested catch to get the ball back on about the halfway then outsprinted three manly players seemingly with ease to score. It was from a standing start and he gave at least 2 of those chasers a head start. He’s 192cm about 100kg and looks all class to me and if he has a good season in the NYC I’d personally pick him over a guy like Oldfield who is a lot shorter than I thought he was. If he develops his game a little further he could certainly be a future first grade winger. He and Tupou would be the perfect modern wing combination imo.
Jake Maklouf: Strong running game, terrible kicking game. Scored an impressive try from close range after receiving a nice second man ball from Asiata, stepped and sliced through to score the second try. Looked pretty dangerous when running but as I say his kicking really let the team down at times. He was kicking the ball with poor shape and far too deep to give his chasers time. Should have reverted to tactical grubbers to the in goal instead of constantly looking to put medium range chips in.
Tyler Cornish: Extremely disappointing all round. His passing was one-dimensional and rushed, didn’t seem to ever realise there was an option out the back which may have given Wells a few opportunities. His long kicking started reasonably but fell away quickly and he was getting charged down a fair bit, with one leading to a Roosters try. His short kicking was similar to Maklouf’s, far too deep to put pressure on and often simply took the wrong kick option for the shape of the defence. Got one repeat set from a nice grubber in the first half. He got owned in defence a couple of times which would be expected considering his stature. His running was probably one positive. He took the line on about 3 times and looked likely each time. Seems to be able to pick his moments to run. His direction and distribution was reasonable.
Brandon Tago: Personally I don’t think he performed to the lofty standards I have some to expect. His hit-ups were always solid but he normally dominates a bit more which allows him to get his carry arm free and offload. This didn’t happen the other night. An early handling error may have contributed to this. He probably dropped the ball 3 times from memory but on two of those occasions got possession back with some big defence. Workrate was good though and I expect him to have a big year and push for first grade at some stage. Perfect body type for an impact prop.
Alex Thomas: Fantastic in his time on the field. Played the first 40 mins at hooker before coming off. Great service to both his halves and forwards. Made some great incisive runs up the middle. This dried up when he came off. Solid in defence. If he’s not picked in the halves will play starting hooker.
Mitchell Mamary: Impressive first game from the big fella. Looks like a mean kid. Good workrate for this size and was making close to 10m every carry. Lower mistake rate than Tago but still dropped at least one. Would’ve had the first Roosters try if not for a Manly intercept in tight. Asiata just needed to pass a fraction earlier as he was hitting a massive hole in the middle but it was plucked and taken downfield 40 metres. Pretty mobile in defence for his size also.
Guy Power: I like the way this kid plays. When he fills out he could be a very good player. Runs nice lines and is keen for work. Looks quick for a backrower too. Lanky like Bernstrom but with a lot more punch into the line and more proactive working the ball out of his own end. Can’t pinpoint it exactly but he just looked impressive.
Rhyse Martin: Solid as always. Played about 60 mins without a break and made good metres every run. Has a great fend and good drive after impact. Not surprising he got a run in place of Cherrington, a real leader on the field for the 20s.
John Asiata: For those who don’t believe there is a difference between a “ball playing” and an “offloading” forward this guy is your prime example of a ball playing forward. Started poorly, dropping the pill, throwing an intercept and giving a penalty but didn’t make a mistake the rest of his time on the field. Sold the front man and threw a beautiful second man ball to Maklouf for the second try. Only missed his target once for the intercept which would have otherwise been a try. Constantly had Manly in two minds if he was going to play before the line or tuck and run. When he run he made good metres after impact and always works for a quick play-the-ball. Has a nice long spiral pass but can’t recall him using it the other night. Scored a try of his own, the second last of the match from close range, carried a few with him and used his weight to drop and get the ball down cleanly. Offers a great ball playing option in a team with less than creative halves.
Jokatama Dokonivalu: Best on the field by a fair margin. As soon as he came on he was in everything. Getting in to first receiver cos he knew that he was attracted plenty of defenders around the ruck. Seemed to have a good engine considering the work he was doing, on and off the ball. Scored the first Roosters try stepping through a few clutching tackles with ease. Made good metres from his hit ups and possesses a big right foot step for a bloke his size (easy 120kg, 195cm). A little slow defending tight but made plenty of diving tackles instead of just letting the faster blokes run by him. Looks like a player. Dogs must have some special kids if they let this one go.
Louis Meehan: Big and mobile, came on at the start of the second half and made good metres per run and hurt some defenders. A really really big dude who looks very fast for his size.
Josh Graham: Won the game for the boys with a barge over try off the dummy half. Was impressive all game. Pretty small for a forward but had great tackling technique and put multiple bone-rattlers on against far bigger opponents. Integral to the win for sure. Will possibly get a bench spot ahead of Jack Noble off the back of that performance.
Tuiala Togitasi: Had a big impact when he came on at prop. Put a big hit on with Tago that regained us possession. Charged up the middle strongly and aggressively with the ball. His second run produced a half break after he bumped off two and with a third around his legs holding the ball with one hand offloaded to support with ease. He and Dokonivalu will probably be the two bench props to start the season.
Jack Goodsell: Only played about 25-30 mins. Played centres and looked a little at sea in defence. Didn’t run the ball much, would’ve liked to see him get a run at fullback.
Jason Antonelli: Good tough hooker, did his job all game, didn’t miss many tackling assignments. Good service all game, just didn’t have the running game that Thomas did.
Brendan Elliot: Also quiet other than his try which was an awesome effort that no one would have expected. Missed a conversion from basically in front but then kicked the next one from his try from an inch off the sideline.
Nene MacDonald: Very impressive at centre. Definitely the best of the backs. Made a couple of big runs out of dummy half and seemed safe in defence. Ran down a Manly player who made a break up the middle easy but from memory he managed to offload to support. Scored a try that showcased that speed again. A Tyler Cornish kick was charged down and went straight up, he made a great contested catch to get the ball back on about the halfway then outsprinted three manly players seemingly with ease to score. It was from a standing start and he gave at least 2 of those chasers a head start. He’s 192cm about 100kg and looks all class to me and if he has a good season in the NYC I’d personally pick him over a guy like Oldfield who is a lot shorter than I thought he was. If he develops his game a little further he could certainly be a future first grade winger. He and Tupou would be the perfect modern wing combination imo.
Jake Maklouf: Strong running game, terrible kicking game. Scored an impressive try from close range after receiving a nice second man ball from Asiata, stepped and sliced through to score the second try. Looked pretty dangerous when running but as I say his kicking really let the team down at times. He was kicking the ball with poor shape and far too deep to give his chasers time. Should have reverted to tactical grubbers to the in goal instead of constantly looking to put medium range chips in.
Tyler Cornish: Extremely disappointing all round. His passing was one-dimensional and rushed, didn’t seem to ever realise there was an option out the back which may have given Wells a few opportunities. His long kicking started reasonably but fell away quickly and he was getting charged down a fair bit, with one leading to a Roosters try. His short kicking was similar to Maklouf’s, far too deep to put pressure on and often simply took the wrong kick option for the shape of the defence. Got one repeat set from a nice grubber in the first half. He got owned in defence a couple of times which would be expected considering his stature. His running was probably one positive. He took the line on about 3 times and looked likely each time. Seems to be able to pick his moments to run. His direction and distribution was reasonable.
Brandon Tago: Personally I don’t think he performed to the lofty standards I have some to expect. His hit-ups were always solid but he normally dominates a bit more which allows him to get his carry arm free and offload. This didn’t happen the other night. An early handling error may have contributed to this. He probably dropped the ball 3 times from memory but on two of those occasions got possession back with some big defence. Workrate was good though and I expect him to have a big year and push for first grade at some stage. Perfect body type for an impact prop.
Alex Thomas: Fantastic in his time on the field. Played the first 40 mins at hooker before coming off. Great service to both his halves and forwards. Made some great incisive runs up the middle. This dried up when he came off. Solid in defence. If he’s not picked in the halves will play starting hooker.
Mitchell Mamary: Impressive first game from the big fella. Looks like a mean kid. Good workrate for this size and was making close to 10m every carry. Lower mistake rate than Tago but still dropped at least one. Would’ve had the first Roosters try if not for a Manly intercept in tight. Asiata just needed to pass a fraction earlier as he was hitting a massive hole in the middle but it was plucked and taken downfield 40 metres. Pretty mobile in defence for his size also.
Guy Power: I like the way this kid plays. When he fills out he could be a very good player. Runs nice lines and is keen for work. Looks quick for a backrower too. Lanky like Bernstrom but with a lot more punch into the line and more proactive working the ball out of his own end. Can’t pinpoint it exactly but he just looked impressive.
Rhyse Martin: Solid as always. Played about 60 mins without a break and made good metres every run. Has a great fend and good drive after impact. Not surprising he got a run in place of Cherrington, a real leader on the field for the 20s.
John Asiata: For those who don’t believe there is a difference between a “ball playing” and an “offloading” forward this guy is your prime example of a ball playing forward. Started poorly, dropping the pill, throwing an intercept and giving a penalty but didn’t make a mistake the rest of his time on the field. Sold the front man and threw a beautiful second man ball to Maklouf for the second try. Only missed his target once for the intercept which would have otherwise been a try. Constantly had Manly in two minds if he was going to play before the line or tuck and run. When he run he made good metres after impact and always works for a quick play-the-ball. Has a nice long spiral pass but can’t recall him using it the other night. Scored a try of his own, the second last of the match from close range, carried a few with him and used his weight to drop and get the ball down cleanly. Offers a great ball playing option in a team with less than creative halves.
Jokatama Dokonivalu: Best on the field by a fair margin. As soon as he came on he was in everything. Getting in to first receiver cos he knew that he was attracted plenty of defenders around the ruck. Seemed to have a good engine considering the work he was doing, on and off the ball. Scored the first Roosters try stepping through a few clutching tackles with ease. Made good metres from his hit ups and possesses a big right foot step for a bloke his size (easy 120kg, 195cm). A little slow defending tight but made plenty of diving tackles instead of just letting the faster blokes run by him. Looks like a player. Dogs must have some special kids if they let this one go.
Louis Meehan: Big and mobile, came on at the start of the second half and made good metres per run and hurt some defenders. A really really big dude who looks very fast for his size.
Josh Graham: Won the game for the boys with a barge over try off the dummy half. Was impressive all game. Pretty small for a forward but had great tackling technique and put multiple bone-rattlers on against far bigger opponents. Integral to the win for sure. Will possibly get a bench spot ahead of Jack Noble off the back of that performance.
Tuiala Togitasi: Had a big impact when he came on at prop. Put a big hit on with Tago that regained us possession. Charged up the middle strongly and aggressively with the ball. His second run produced a half break after he bumped off two and with a third around his legs holding the ball with one hand offloaded to support with ease. He and Dokonivalu will probably be the two bench props to start the season.
Jack Goodsell: Only played about 25-30 mins. Played centres and looked a little at sea in defence. Didn’t run the ball much, would’ve liked to see him get a run at fullback.
Jason Antonelli: Good tough hooker, did his job all game, didn’t miss many tackling assignments. Good service all game, just didn’t have the running game that Thomas did.
. Just a few other things to add:
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